The High Mountain Court: A Fantasy Romance Novel (The Five Crowns of Okrith Book 1)

Product Information

Lina is the self sacrificing sovereign and will do what is right to take care of her people, even at the cost of her own happiness. She is a mighty warrior queen with sass that needs a person like Bri to be by her side. throwing a few content warnings out there — there is some degree of infidelity in this book, and also a brief situation re: domestic violence. The third installment in a series of five books, the story of Breanna and Lina, two warrior women, BA heroines, and incredible characters, was incredible. The world would keep coming for her, keep taking from her, either way. So she would take from the world, she would fight for her right to this happiness. Interesting premise, meh execution. A little bit by the numbers for me without adding anything to the genre which leaves me feeling a little bit cheated.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Determined to uncover who killed the Western Queen, fae warrior Briata Catullus sets out on a mission to defeat the witch hunters and protect the Western Princess. But when she arrives in the West, things are even worse than she feared. The icy reception from the Western fae is the least of her problems. After all, they've heard the prophecy that Bri will seize the crown from its sovereign, and the last thing they want is for her to usurp the throne. This book is the second novel in The Five Crowns of Okrith series. It follows Ruadora Dammacus now that she is in possession of The Immortal Blade, a powerful relic of her heritage which threatens to control her more than she can control it. It is with this power and an unlikely ally that she seeks to free the blue witches from the torment caused by the Northern Court, all while battling her own demons. What a wonderful follow up to The High Mountain Court! Although not perfect, it was still very much enjoyable to read! I’ve always recommended this series, especially to anyone who loves fae romances. A.K Mulford understands the world of fantasy and delivers impressive romances. The great thing about this series is that each book follows a different couple so you really get to enjoy a new romance every book and see cameos from previous characters as well.

Remy is a red witch in hiding. She and her brown witch companions evade the witch hunters searching for them. Remy tries to flee when she encounters four mysterious fae in the tavern she works at. However, she finds herself coerced into accompanying them on their quest. Remy cannot fight her growing attraction to Hale, the Prince of the Eastern Kingdom. Will Remy and Hale find the magical artifacts in time? Can they successfully elude the Northern Kingdom? And what will Remy learn about herself? Then, I must point out that every LGBT+ character is a side or insignificant character. I never got the impression that Remy or Hale were bisexual or pansexual or anything. The fae warriors escorting Hale have made comments about their sexual preferences. I guess some of them are at the very least bisexual, but that's about it. There was also a highborn character described as androgynous, and they clearly were non-binary. However, they appeared once, and that was it. It all felt politically correct, and I don't think it's that appropriate to market a book as LGBT+ when none of the main characters is part of that community. I received an arc of this novel from the author and I’m leaving an honest review. Thank you to A.K Mulford for this opportunity!

Our Review

For reasons mentioned in the previous sections of this book review of The High Mountain Court, I don't think this book is NA in terms of writing or themes.

CUE A MINI INTERNAL RANT: I hate when things are referred to as "Most Gorgeous or Most Beautiful", It's a pet peeve - I dunno why, just is....so seeing it not once, BUT NUMEROUS TIMES how GORGEOUS HE WAS....made me a little nauseous. 🤢I'm almost MAD, as this has elements of everything that you kind of want in a fantasy romance. I would like to thank A.K. Mulford for sharing an ARC with me. Below, the breakdown of the rating I gave The High Mountain Court. Este libro me llamó mucho la atención desde un primer momento, de hecho os puedo decir que a los que os gusten las brujas y los faes tiene una combinación perfecta de ambos mundos y se conjugan a la perfección. The High Mountain Court lured me in with the promise of a diverse cast of fae and witches and a Steamy Romance. Let me tell you that it did not disappoint! I’ve always loved stories with the fae in them, but I’ve long grown bored of how often the story gets bland when there is so little representation (please share diverse fae recommendations if you have any!). The High Mountain Court is such a refreshing change from all of the other fae books that I’ve read with a romance just as steamy as I could hope for! before we given begin, look at the title. HOW UNREATIVE is that? I mean we've had our fair share of ACOTAR copy cats but guys we are in 2022 and we should find better titles.The main character often finds herself in situations where survival is unlikely, but she makes it out alive every time... Even when she says that her power is really low at that moment and that she feels weak. Upon meeting the male protagonist and his posse, Remy ends up going through the mandatory physical training of every YA fantasy. Daggers, swords, bows, whatever-you-can-name, and that was disappointing to me. I thought the book was about witches and magic, not sword-fighting faes. Mulford does an amazing job of weaving threads, and layering stories. As I said, it would be easy to read this as a standalone – though there would be things that felt confusing – but overall, each book covers one of the five courts. The Southern Court will be book 4. Around halfway through this book, the many of the rest of the gang from previous books joins the fight, and we see them all together again. It’s fun and gives us an idea of what is coming next. A somehow-super-powerful girl who turns out to not only be fae glamoured as human but is also the lost heir to a whole kingdom E dato che siamo in tema diritti, abbiamo pure un personaggio gender fluid che è messo lì solo per fare l’occhiolino alle masse perché sostanzialmente è inutile. the scenery, the flavors, the scents all perfectly complemented each other in a way that gave her an odd sense of rightness. she could imagine what growing up here would have been like. it was a strange unity she recognized, though she had never known it herself.”

The magic system was thought out and the world building was balanced but I was definitely wishing this had more and I hope we get to see more in depth looks into both in the next book. I'm also hoping very much the author will go into some genealogy with relation to certain powers to answer questions I'm sure many others had. While it is a somewhat enemies to lover romance, our leads do have an instant connection from the moment they meet. It does however take them a while to fully trust each other. On that same not, it is slow burn and the spice does come in the latter part of the book. And oh boy does it come🌶🌶🌶🌶! Who doesn’t love a legs wrapped around the waist while pinned to a wall moment. This book is about found family, fated mates and a ragtag crew. The perfect combination! My heart was in my throat in parts of The High Mountain Court, because I wanted everyone to be okay. There are also surprises, which I didn’t see coming. I really love when that happens, because then I know for sure I’m in for an exciting adventure!

I will give the book a positive, as at about 80% through, the character development does it's job and we are happily on the Ru+Ren train.